Home Master Index
←Prev   Sirach 3 as rendered by/in  Next→ 



3:1  My children, listen to me, for I am your father; do this to be saved.
3:2  For the Lord desires that a father be honored by his children, and he confirms a mother’s rights over her children.
3:3  He who honors his father atones for sins,
3:4  and he who respects his mother stores up riches.
3:5  He who honors his father will rejoice in his own children, and when he prays he will be heard.
3:6  He who respects his father will be blessed with a long life, and he who gives comfort to his mother obeys the Lord.
3:7  He who fears the Lord honors his father and submits to his parents as his masters.
3:8  Honor your father by word and deed, so that his blessing may come upon you;
3:9  for a father’s blessing strengthens the houses of his children, but a mother’s curse uproots their foundations.
3:10  Do not revel in any disgrace that may affect your father, for your father’s dishonor will not be a source of honor to you.
3:11  The honor of a father is one’s own honor as well, and the dishonor of a mother is a disgrace to her children.
3:12  My child, look after your father when he is old; do nothing to cause him grief as long as he lives.
3:13  Even if his mind fails, be sympathetic toward him; do not despise him simply because you yourself are healthy and strong.
3:14  Kindness shown to a father will never be forgotten, and it will be credited to you as reparation for your sins.
3:15  In the time of your tribulation it will not be forgotten and like frost in warm weather your sins will melt away.
3:16  If you forsake your father, you are no better than one who blasphemes, and if you anger your mother, you will be accursed by the Lord.
3:17  My child, carry out your duties with humility, and you will be loved more than a benefactor.
3:18  The greater you are, the greater should be your humility; in this way, you will find favor with the Lord.
3:19  [ Many are the lofty and the renowned, but it is to the humble that he makes known his secrets.]
3:20  For great is the power of the Lord, yet he is glorified by the humble.
3:21  Do not seek to learn what is too sublime for you; investigate not those things that are beyond your scope.
3:22  Concentrate on what you have been commanded, for what is hidden is not your concern.
3:23  Do not meddle in matters that are beyond you, for much has been revealed to you that is beyond your comprehension.
3:24  Many have been led astray by their own presumptions, and false deductions have impaired their judgments.
3:25  Where there are no eyes, there is no light, and where there is no knowledge, there is no wisdom.
3:26  A stubborn person will come to a bad end, and the one who loves danger will perish in it.
3:27  A stubborn man will be burdened by troubles; a sinner heaps sin upon sin.
3:28  When calamity befalls the proud, there is no cure, for an evil growth has taken root there.
3:29  The mind of the intelligent meditates on proverbs, and an attentive ear is the desire of the wise.
3:30  As water extinguishes a blazing fire, so almsgiving atones for sins.
3:31  He who repays a favor is mindful of the future; when he falls, he will find support.